Holocaust shooting puts county on alert

Jewish institutions urged to maintain vigilance

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is urging Jewish institutions to continue to watch for any suspicious activities in the wake of last week's shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., that left one guard dead.

Ron Halber, executive director of the council noted Tuesday morning that Jewish institutions should never let their guard down.

"The Jewish community always maintains a high level of vigilance, 365 days a year," he said.

County police officers were stationed at more than 50 temples and Jewish temples, schools and community centers in the county June 10 following the 1 p.m. incident, Lt. Paul Starks, county police spokesman, said Thursday.

"While there was no threat to Montgomery County sites, we wanted them to know we were there and to be vigilant and to call us if they saw anything suspicious," he said.

Police presence was scaled back by the end of last week, but officers were told to make regular checks of Jewish institutions during their patrols and to make sure their presence was noticed, he said Monday.

Starks said the county police department always maintains a list of high priority sites that officers routinely visit during their patrols.

"Some of those locations last week weren't brand new to us, but we did increase our presence of police cars and uniformed officers because of the shooting at the Holocaust Museum," he said.

Starks added that he was not aware of any reported incidents at Jewish synagogues, schools or centers in the last week.

Rockville Police Chief Terrance N. Treschuk noted Thursday that city officers were not given any specific assignments in light of the incident, which he called a "horrible tragedy."

"All the police are aware of what happened at the museum and city officers are keeping their eyes and ears open," he said.

The Jewish Community Relations Council, which is based in Rockville, advised Jewish facilities to be aware of any individuals exhibiting suspicious behavior, keep access points to a minimum, make sure a uniform security plan is in place and keep buildings well lit.

The suspect, identified as James W. von Brunn, 88, of Annapolis, walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum June 10 and shot the security guard that opened the door for him with a rifle, according to reports.

Von Brunn was shot by other guards and remained hospitalized in critical but stable condition Monday at George Washington University Hospital, according to reports. He is expected to survive.

The slain guard, Stephen T. Johns, 39, of Temple Hills, had been employed at the museum for six years, according to the museum's Web site. The museum was closed Thursday and flags lowered to half-staff, but it reopened the following day.

The suspect was known as a white supremacist for his racist and anti-Semitic writings.

Shelley Engel, executive director of B'nai Shalom of Olney, said county police came to the synagogue after the incident and the following morning to check the building and make sure it was secure.

"Generally we keep our doors locked, so we're not doing anything more than we usually do," she said. "We're always on a heightened sense of security because of being a Jewish facility."

Stephanie Weishaar, president of Congregation Or Chadash in Damascus, said the congregation had a scheduled board meeting June 10 and a police cruiser was still there when the meeting ended at 10:30 p.m.

By coincidence, the temple board had put discussion of a security plan on its agenda and is now working to put together security regulations.

"In general, we don't want to change the way we do what we do, just have a certain level of awareness," Weishaar said.

Temple members found anti-Semitic chalk drawings in their parking lot after their Passover congregational seder in April.

"We're fairly certain those were children," she said.

She noted she was shocked by the shooting at the museum.

"The symbolism of it happening at all places at the Holocaust Museum is jarring," Weishaar said.

Halber said the Jewish community will remain strong in the wake of the incident.

"This attack will not stop the Jewish community from doing a single thing," he said.

Staff Writers Nathan Carrick and Susan Singer-Bart also contributed to this report.